Collaboration between Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire
Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary
Working with other police forces can bring enormous benefits,
such as increased resilience and economies of scale. In the context
of the significant financial challenges that the Constabulary is
currently facing, collaborative working is seen as a key option to
achieving savings.
Bedfordshire Police is continuing to develop opportunities to
collaborate effectively with Hertfordshire and, more recently,
Cambridgeshire Constabulary has joined us to form a three-force
Strategic Policing Alliance that will explore options for further
joint initiatives.
The overarching priority is to ensure that we deliver a policing
service to communities in Bedfordshire that is as resilient,
efficient and effective as possible, at a time when we are faced
with considerable financial constraints like all other public
services.
To date the following joint units have been established:
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit - November
2007
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Dog Unit – April 2009
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Scientific Services Unit – April
2009
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Professional Standards Department
– April 2009
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Firearms Support Unit – July
2009
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Civil Contingencies & Public
Order Planning Unit – September 2009
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Police Pensions Payroll &
Administration Unit – November 2010
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire ICT Department – December
2010
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Firearms Licensing Unit – March
2011 Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Counter Terrorism &
Domestic Extremism Unit – March 2011
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit – April
2011
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Graphic Design & Print Unit –
April 2011
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Procurement
Department – April 2011
All these collaborative initiatives are underpinned by legal
agreements under Section 23 of the Police Act 1996 between the
respective police authorities and Chief Constables detailing
governance arrangements.
A dedicated joint programme team continues to explore
opportunities for further collaborative work, predominantly between
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, building on these
recent successes. The team comprises officers and staff from
all three forces.
Not all services are suitable for collaboration with other
forces, for example neighbourhood policing must retain its very
local focus. However, we will explore all other options to develop
joint services with Hertfordshire Constabulary, Cambridgeshire
Constabulary and other forces and partners, both locally and across
the country. The financial challenge is imminent so it will be
important that work on further collaboration is developed with all
urgency.
Download the East
Region Collaboration Strategy